First Impressions
by FairyMagician
Summary: Amaterasu has lived her whole life judging people based solely on first impressions, and she had never been wrong yet. But a stranger, Hideki Ryuga he called himself, intrigued her more than she cared to admit. Just who was he? // I do not own Death Note
1. Chapter 1

**"Amaterasu turn that racket down!"**

**I rolled my eyes as I heard my mother's voice yelling from downstairs. I ignored her and continued my revision for the To-Oh University exams I was due to sit the next day. She didn't understand that I needed my music loud to compete with the racket my brother Sora was making in the room adjacent to mine. I wouldn't have minded so much but he was 27 years old and supposed to have a house of his own. I blamed the Kira case entirely. After the deaths of those twelve FBI agents Mum had actually begged him to quit the case and come home until it was over. She was terrified and who was he to say no to free meals? **

"**Amaterasu!"**

**I sighed with exasperation as I heard my Mum's voice outside my door, her fist banging against it. "What?" I cried impatiently as I reluctantly paused the music. "I'm trying to revise!"**

**The door swung open to reveal a tiny dark haired woman with chocolate brown eyes that were glaring down at me, arms folded across her chest. "How many times do I have to tell you?"**

"**Keep the music down. We have neighbours," I recited along side her as I rolled my eyes. She must have told me a hundred times. "I know Mum. But I have it loud to block out that," I said nodding to the wall. On the other side, you could hear the sound of my brother's voice as he was talking on his phone. I say talking; it was actually more like yelling. I felt for the pour soul on the other end but he always got so defensive whenever I asked him about it. I assumed 'girlfriend.' Not for much longer if he carried on yelling to her down the phone. She would probably finish him if I didn't kill him first.**

"**Just ask him to stop shouting," Mum suggested.**

"**I have. Like a million times. He insists that he's not shouting. One of these days I'm gonna record him."**

"**Don't be silly Amate. Just put some headphones in. It's only to stop the neighbours complaining."**

"**Fine," I sighed as I got to my feet and went to rifle through my 'electric cupboard' as I liked to call it, eventually finding a pair of big, black headphones that hadn't seen daylight for at least a decade. I plugged them into my stereo and was about to put them on when I noticed that my mother hadn't left. "What now?"**

"**Do you ever use your desk?" She asked eyeing the wooden object stuck in the corner of my room, a pile of books and papers steadily building up on top of it.**

"**Of course I do. Just not a lot," I replied as I clamped the headphones over my ears and returned to my spot on the floor where I was comfortably hunched over my textbook. I heard my mum mutter something as she left the room before the music drowned her out. It sounded like 'strange child' and 'damage your back' but I wasn't really listening to her; I was too busy concentrating on the information before me. I wasn't naturally very intelligent so I knew I couldn't just 'wing it' in the morning. I had to work for my brains and my family didn't make that easy to do with the constant distractions for an already distracted mind. I would need all the luck I could get tomorrow.**

* * *

**Bang! Bang!**

**I shot up; eyes wide open as someone pounded on my bedroom door. "Amaterasu!"**

**I furrowed my brow. I recognised that voice and it didn't belong to any member of my family. I slipped out of bed and opened the door to reveal the petite figure of my best friend Aoi Himitsu.**

"**What are you doing here?"**

**She slapped me round the face (a normal occurrence when she was annoyed)**

**"Why do you always feel the need to abuse me?" I asked rubbing my cheek where I could still feel the sting of her hand.**

"**You idiot! The entrance exams start in half an hour. You've got 5 minutes to get your ass ready or I'm dragging you out as you are!" She was tapping her foot with her arms folded across her chest. She reminded me a little bit of my mother and I had to admit I was a little scared.**

"**I'll be ready," I whimpered which was her cue to smile and leave to wait downstairs satisfied in terrifying me to get what she wanted. **

**As soon as she disappeared, I literally flew to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. No time for that bath I was planning to have to help with my nerves. In fact, there was no time to be nervous at all. I was out of the shower in about a minute and was throwing my clothes on so fast I didn't know what was what. There was no time to dry my hair as I checked my reflection. It would probably dry on the way to the entrance exams with the speed we'd be travelling. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from where I live if we take a steady walk. This time we'd have to run.**

**Which is exactly what we did. As soon as I had my shoes fitted to my feet and I ensured the door was locked (my parents had already left for work and Sora probably wouldn't wake until the afternoon) we took off at high speed down the street, people diving out of the way to avoid harm. I couldn't believe I'd overlaid.**

**________**

**At last our destination was in sight. We had about two minutes left before the exams began and we weren't going to take our chances and relax. Instead we picked up speed and rocketed past the man at the gate, only slowing when we reached the door that lead to the examination room. We took a second to compose ourselves before entering to take our seats. That was when I first saw him. He had his toes curled around the edge of the desk, his knees practically round his ears as he sat on his chair. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a plain white, long sleeved T-shirt. I slid into my seat at the desk beside him as Aoi hurried down to hers at the front, never taking my eyes off this stranger. He seemed so odd compared to everyone else in the room, as if he didn't belong amongst civilisation. Of course I was only going on his appearance but his actions belonged to that of a solitary being. The way he sat. The delicate way he held his pen. He had clearly never had to worry about what people thought of him. These thoughts then led me to wonder why he was applying to University, as he clearly preferred keeping himself to himself. **

**Of course I could have been completely wrong in my assumptions. He probably just genuinely didn't care what people thought of him and had plenty of friends who didn't care about his unusual behaviour. **

**I was still watching him when he suddenly turned his head and I snapped my own away at a guilty speed but not before I saw his eyes. Dark, dull with circles underneath and pupils about the size of his irises, which told me he was probably high on something. However that's all his eyes told me. There was no emotion at all displayed in those lacklustre orbs of his and I found myself immediately intrigued. He was certainly an odd creature and I couldn't work him out. Everyone else was easy to figure. Either they were biting their nails, shaking their legs, heaving huge sighs or had their heads held in their hands, pushing their hair back as they tried to finish the paper. There was only one other who stood out to me, though not in the same way. This one wasn't as interesting. I had seen him flicking through the paper, his chin resting in his hand as if he was bored. I got a glimpse of his face when he turned at the sound of my other subject being told to sit in his seat properly. Unsurprisingly, he was good looking. From his behaviour I gathered he was intelligent and I wouldn't have been surprised if he even turned out to be good at sports. He was perfect, incredibly boring and I hadn't even spoken to him yet. Mum always said I shouldn't judge people based on first impressions but I couldn't help it. It was in my nature **_**and **_**my judgements were usually pretty accurate. **

'_**But this guy.' **_**I glanced across at my new subject who was still sat in his odd position. '**_**What is he doing here?'**_

_

* * *

_

"**Ahh. Fresh air."**

**Aoi and I exited the building, arms wide open and our heads back as we welcomed the outdoors. **

"**So how do you think you did?" She asked me as we finally began the trek home.**

"**I dunno. Good enough to get in I hope," I replied, but she wasn't looking at me anymore. She was staring at something directly ahead of us. "What is it?" However, I didn't need for her to point it out before I saw it. It was a black, shiny expensive looking car parked just outside the gates. "Whoa. Who do ya reckon that belongs to?"**

**She shrugged her shoulders. "Whoever it is must have some serious money."**

"**No kidding."**

**I suddenly stopped short, almost colliding with a body that appeared in my path. It was him. He was wearing a pair of old trainers on his feet, laces untied and he stood hunched over with his hands in his pockets Despite this he was still a good 5 inches taller than I was. His eyes were watching me with that same bored expression on his face. "Erm...hello," I said, taken aback by his sudden appearance.**

"**I thought you might like to know that you have your T-shirt on back-to-front."**


	2. Chapter 2

"_I thought you might like to know that you have your T-shirt on back-to-front."_

That was all I could think about. My head was filled with thoughts buzzing round and round continuously. They were all him. Of all the things he could have done he chose to tell me my T-shirt was the wrong way round. Had he been watching me? Or did he just have really good eyes?

I couldn't figure him out and it frustrated me to no end. I could tell you what every single person in that room was wanting from University, but not him. He didn't seem at all fazed by any of the exam questions from what I could tell so he was probably intelligent. He didn't seem bothered by the examination at all, so much so that I suspected he wasn't doing it to get into University. However, if that was the case then why was he there? The more I tried to work it out the more confused I became. I had to get him out of my head before it drove me insane.

I sat at my desk and sighed as I proposed new thoughts to my brain to clear him away. The Kira case. All the papers that had been building up on my desk were covered in my notes. Names and dates of deaths, my thoughts and assessment of Kira's character, (because after the broadcast with L the other day I was in no doubt that such a person actually existed), and how I thought Kira was doing it. The latter of the three didn't take up much paper, maybe half a side if that, because I was stumped. All I had was that Kira needed a face and a name to kill someone, and I could only work that much out from hacking into Sora's computer while he was away.

What did get me were the deaths of the FBI agents. How did Kira get a hold of their files? It was pointless hacking into Sora's computer for that as he quit before he could find out anything about their deaths, leaving me to guess at what could have happened. Kira somehow learned the name and face of one FBI agent and somehow managed to get said agent to help him to acquire the files before that agent's death. How Kira knew about the FBI agents in the first place was something to be amazed at. Sora had told me that they were investigating family members of those on the Task Force so perhaps Kira was among one of those families and knew that they were being watched by the FBI agents. Kira obviously felt threatened, especially not knowing any of their names or faces but who...

"Amaterasu! Dinner's ready!"

"Right!" I left the room, my head buzzing with the Kira case and whether the police would be able to catch someone who appeared to be able to just will someone dead. I was comforted by the fact that L was working on the case. If I could work out as much as I had done then I was certain that L had better conclusions and already had suspects. After all, he was the greatest detective in the world.

* * *

"You're ready on time I see Amate."

I rolled my eyes as I entered the kitchen to see Aoi sat with my Mum and Dad, a smirk on her face.

"Shall we set off then? Seeing as I'm ready so early we can afford to take a steady stroll," I said grabbing my heels and kissing my parents goodbye.

"Have fun you two," they called as we headed out the door.

"Will do!"

They had offered to give us a lift to the Entrance Ceremony so we didn't have to get ready so early but I hated waiting around so I declined the offer, much to Aoi's dismay, and said we'd walk.

"Bet you're regretting not taking that lift," Aoi said as she glanced down at my feet squeezed into my new heels.

"Not at all," I replied with a smile. "I've been walking up and down the street in them ever since I bought them so I'm used to it."

It was true. I had received many an odd look as I paraded up and down the street in my joggy bottoms and midnight blue heels but it paid off as I now felt next to no pain when wearing them.

Aoi laughed. "Only you Amaterasu."

An hour later we finally arrived but with plenty of time to spare and in a more respectable fashion. None of my clothes were inside out or back-to-front and I had already ensured my skirt wasn't tucked into my knickers around 50 times before I left the house. I checked my reflection in every window we passed to make sure my hair and make-up were still as they should be. I hated formal events.

Aoi noticed how nervous I was as I pulled on the back of my skirt looking up at the sign above the door. 2007 To-Oh University Entrance Ceremony.

"Relax," she said brushing sakura blossom out of my hair. "You look fine."

I took a deep breath as we stepped inside and found our designated seats in the huge hall where hundreds of chairs were set out. Many people had already taken their seats and I was conscious of their stares as Aoi led us to our seats, three rows from the front. I was grateful that I could finally sit down and be the one observing everyone else rather than the other way round.

As Aoi talked to me I found myself wondering if _he_ was going to be there but I quickly disposed of those thoughts and tried to focus on what Aoi was saying. She would realise immediately if I was distracted and bombard me with all sorts of questions to get what she wanted out of me.

"Oh my God he's gorgeous," she suddenly gasped as she eyed someone who had entered the hall.

I casually glanced round to see who she was looking at but turned back in disgust. It was the boring guy from the entrance exams dressed in suit and tie. How predictable. "You can't be serious Aoi. He's so...perfect," I scoffed as I watched her watching him walk down to his seat on the front row.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Aoi laughed, her eyes still glued on him.

"It is. He's so boring."

"How can you say that?" She asked, shocked at my response.

"I know what he's like. He's good-looking, intelligent and I bet he's good at sport," I explained to her, already bored talking about him. "He's perfect and we both know perfect is boring. Plus it's the perfect ones you have to watch out for. They're usually the ones with the dark and terrible secrets," I added with a smile. Aoi just rolled her eyes at me.

"Honestly Amaterasu. You can't judge everyone from appearance alone. You have to speak to them as well. And how do you know he's intelligent?" She asked, suddenly curious.

I shrugged my shoulders. "From the way he was sat at the entrance exams. It was as if to say, 'Whatever. I can do this.'"

"It could have been an act."

I shook my head but could elaborate no further as the Ceremony was about to begin.

* * *

After being sat for what seemed like hours, the time came for the representative to be announced, the person who scored highest on the exams. A Light Yagami was called out and I wasn't surprised when Mr. Perfect stood up.

"Told ya," I said.

Then came the surprise. A second name was called out. One Hideki Ryuga. Of course everyone immediately began talking excitedly. Was it the pop star?

No. It was _him_. I had assumed correctly. He _was_ intelligent. He was also dressed in the same jeans and plain white T-shirt and the same pair of old trainers shoved carelessly on his feet. I had to smile.

"He's they guy who told you your T-shirt was back-to-front," I heard Aoi say beside me but I was too focused on Ryuga to really pay her any attention.

My assumption that he didn't care what people thought was also correct, and I was sticking by my initial deduction; he wasn't in the habit of being among civilisation. However, that didn't mean I was any less confused by him. I watched him intently as he stood hunched beside Light. You couldn't have had two people any more contrasted than you had right then. Light stood tall in his suit and Ryuga stood hunched in his jeans and T-shirt. I suspect that if he stood up straight he and Light would be around the same height. However I think standing straight would have taken away from his character.

I continued to watch him, listening to the way he spoke and watching the way he held the paper by the corners as if he was inspecting it. He was certainly an interesting creature and I wanted to know more.

The time for him to leave the stage came all too soon; still I followed him to his seat beside Light and smiled as I saw Ryuga slip out of his shoes to crouch on the seat. Just what was it about this guy?

Just then Aoi nudged me. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," I lied as I turned to look at her, her brown eyes watching me.

"That Ryuga's a bit of a weirdo don't ya think? What's your assessment?"

I smiled. Despite her objections to my judging people based on behaviour and appearance she also relied on it far too much. "Well," I began in a hushed voice. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much because he confuses me. But what I am sure of is that he's a bit of a loner and not accustomed to being in public." I was about to continue when I heard something that stopped my thoughts in their tracks.

'_I am L.'_

I spun my head round to stare at the source of this voice. Ryuga. Had I heard him right?

But how could he be L? Was it possible? L wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal himself would he? I mean if Kira is among the students then Kira now knows L's face and name. If that's his real name. If he was L then Hideki Ryuga was probably some ridiculous alias he adopted. If he was L then that meant he must suspect someone at the University.

_That's why he's here._

Suddenly it started to make sense to me now. Kira. That was why he was here. So why reveal himself? And why reveal himself to Light? Perhaps he wished for Light to work with him on the case. But another thought soon crossed my mind.

_He suspects that Light is Kira._

Light Yagami. His family name was Yagami. I was sure Sora had mentioned a Souichiro Yagami at Task Force. He was leading the Task Force on the Kira investigation. Was that Light's father? If it was then I had no doubt that Light would be able to access his father's files for any names and faces of criminals. He had the intelligence to prevent from being caught. But did he fit the Kira profile?

I think a little investigation of my own was in order. If Ryuga was L and he suspected Light to be Kira then I wanted to know why. He must have reason to suspect him.

"Amaterasu."

"Hm?" I was pulled out of my chain of thoughts by Aoi tugging on my blouse.

"You were saying."

"What was I saying?"

" About Ryuga."

_He's really L._ "Oh and he's high on something."

"High?"

"Yeah. His pupils are the size of his irises and he has dark circles under them, which suggests he doesn't sleep much. I'm thinking either caffeine or sugar."

She laughed. "Seriously Amaterasu. You figured all that out from watching him?"

"It's only guesswork but how often am I wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **We all know that I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters.

* * *

"So how's it feel to finally be a University student?" Mum asked when I came home after my first day.

"I don't know. It hasn't really sunk in yet," I replied as I made my way upstairs to my room. I hadn't seen Ryuga at all today, or Light for that matter and Aoi hadn't had much luck either. Not that she was searching for the same reasons as me but she was searching nonetheless.

Speaking of Aoi, as soon as I closed my bedroom door my phone started ringing. I checked the screen to see that I had received a message.

_You'll never guess who I ran into? Talk to you about it tomorrow._

_Aoi_

So she ran into Light. I wondered if she would have anything of importance to tell me or whether it would just be useless information. I suspected it would be more of the latter, as I highly doubted that Light would say anything to Aoi that would make him appear anything less than the perfect teenager everyone saw.

I sighed as I threw my phone aside, collapsing onto my bed with all these thoughts buzzing round in my head. Who would have thought that _the _L would appear at my University? Who would have thought that one of the students at my University was a suspect in the Kira investigation? It was all a bit too much for my brain to process. So much so that I failed to realise the possible danger I would be putting myself in if Light really was Kira. I failed to realise that if I learnt too much I could end up as another victim of Kira and his quest for justice. But my head was too full of Ryuga and Light to understand any of this. I wanted to know if Ryuga was who he claimed to be, and if he really did suspect Light of being Kira. I just had to know.

* * *

"Hey Amate?"

I opened my eyes at the sound of someone knocking on my bedroom door. My room had grown dark in what seemed a matter of minutes telling me I had fallen asleep without realising it. I looked over at my clock, the green digits flashing 23:16. Had I really been asleep that long?

"Amaterasu?"

I pushed myself into a sitting position and turned on my bedside lamp.

"What is it Sora?"

The door opened and my brother entered the room, a pair of oversized shorts and black vest on, coming to sit on the end of my bed. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was sticking up at odd ends. Trouble sleeping?

"Do you think I did the right thing?"

"Huh?"

His question confused me. Was he talking about the Kira case?

"Quitting the Task Force. Did I do the right thing?"

"Whether it was the right thing or not, what's done is done. There's nothing much you can do about it now."

"I know. But I feel like I let everyone down."

I rolled my eyes. So he was here for comfort. He should have learnt by now that seeking comfort from me was about as useful as a window made of brick.

"Well, you kinda did."

He just looked at me as if to say _'are you serious?'_

"Thanks Amate."

"Well you did," I laughed as he pushed me in the arm, a tiny smirk on his face.

"I should have remembered that coming to you for comfort wasn't a good idea."

"Would you rather me lie and tell you that nobody cared that you left? I bet a lot of people were counting on you to stay."

I watched as he turned his head away, his body hunched over as he sat on the corner of my bed. This was seriously getting him down, but what did he expect to do now? He quit. They weren't going to let him back just like that with a case like this and he knew it. He should never have left in the first place if he was just going to regret it.

"If it makes you feel any better," I said moving to sit beside him, my arm resting around his shoulders. "I'm glad that you quit."

I felt him turn his head but I kept my eyes looking straight ahead. I was already feeling awkward and uncomfortable without having to see his face.

"A lot of people have died because of Kira. He'll kill anyone who gets in his way including the police. You saw what he did to that prisoner pretending to be L." My grip tightened on his shoulder. "I don't want you to die Sora."

His entire upper body moved causing my arm to fall from his shoulder and the next thing I new I was being held close to his body, his arms wrapped around me.

"Thanks Amate."

I let him stay like that for a few seconds before shrugging him off. "That's enough. Let go."

He laughed as he released me, rising to his feet. "You really never change do you Amate?"

"Shut up."

I watched him move towards my bedroom door and was about to let him leave when a thought crossed my mind.

"Hey Sora. Do you know anything about L?"

He paused at the doorway, turning to face me with suspicious eyes. "No. Why?"

I looked back trying to keep my face as innocent as possible. "No reason. Just curious."

I could tell he didn't buy it, his eyes continuing to watch me as if he was trying to see into my mind but I wasn't giving anything away. Eventually he gave up and sighed.

"I don't know what you're up to Amate, but whatever it is...be careful."

I just rolled my eyes at him. "Goodnight Sora."

"Night Amate."

As soon as my door was closed I flopped back down on my bed, a little disappointed but not surprised. So L really is a mystery. No one knows anything about him. Well, no one except the remaining members of Task Force. I assumed that L had revealed himself to them considering he had enrolled at To Oh University. But even then, the most they knew was probably only his appearance and behaviour. He wouldn't keep himself hidden only to reveal everything the second he is forced to expose himself.

I hadn't found it too hard to believe that Ryuga was L as I had always believed that L would do anything to solve his cases. But was he really that kind of person? Would he really risk his life like that to catch Kira? Or was this perhaps just a trap created by the police?

_Can you really be L, Ryuga?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay so it's been a while. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get anything posted but I just lost my inspiration for a while. I have it back now and hopefully it's here to stay for at least a little while. Anyway, sorry this first chapter in ages isn't much but the story should start picking up from here onwards. Anyhoo...Enjoy! xx**_

* * *

The next morning I was greeted by a very happy-looking Aoi. She had an unusually large smile on her face which told me that her meeting with Light had not been a bad thing.

"Let's hear it then. I can see you're dying to tell me."

Aoi beamed at me. "He's perfect," she said without hesitation. "You were right. But, unlike a certain someone, I happen to like boring, perfect people."

I just rolled my eyes as she went on to regale every little detail of her meeting with Light. He was funny and very kind. He seemed to really care about his family and respected his father. He was hoping to follow in his father's footsteps when he finished university. In the brief few minutes she had spoken to him, Aoi seemed to have managed to get his entire life story out of him. That was Aoi's specialty. She was a master of interrogation.

However, as much as Aoi had found out, none of it was of any particular interest to me. All that this told me was that Light was good with people.

"Although, he was talking to himself before I caught up to him," Aoi added as an afterthought. "But everyone does that so it doesn't count against his perfectness."

I could see that Aoi was full of Light after just one meeting. From the way she spoke about him it was clear that she could never be convinced of Light being anything but perfect. I was sure she was not the first to get into this way of thinking and I was sure that she wouldn't be the last. I just hoped, for her sake, that he was just as perfect as he appeared.

* * *

My last class of the day had ended and I was making my way home when I noticed a crowd gathering around the tennis courts. My curiosity got the better of me and I headed over to see what was going on. I pushed my way to the front only to see Light and Ryuga having a full blown tennis match. There was nothing amateur about the way either of them played and neither seemed to be holding back.

"What's going on here?" I asked someone standing beside me.

"Not sure. I came out of class and everyone was stood here watching them. I thought it was official or something with the ref and linesmen but apparently it's just a friendly game of tennis."

Friendly? It was obvious that it was supposed to be seen as friendly. What says 'friends' better than a good old game of tennis? Perhaps a game of tennis with nothing in mind but the game that was being played. I, however, guessed that there was something more to this match than met the eye. Of course, I could have been completely overthinking it, but that didn't mean that questions weren't turning round in my head.

Who challenged whom?

What was their motive?

Why choose tennis?

Okay. So the answer to the last question was obvious. They both seemed to have a common interest in the sport so tennis was obviously the best choice. But what about the other questions? What were they hoping to gain from this? Perhaps I was simply thinking too much into it.

"Looks like you were right again."

I started at the sound of a voice beside me. Aoi had found me amongst the crowd and made her way to my side. She was watching in awe at the tennis match before us. Well, she was watching Light in awe anyway.

"Of course I was," I said, once I realised who it was. "How often am I wrong?"

Aoi just rolled her eyes at me. "One day Amate, you're going to make one massive misjudgement that gets you in trouble. So why are they playing tennis?" She asked, changing the subject. "Is it official?"

* * *

"You know I never saw you as the stalker type Amate."

The tennis game had ended, with Light winning much to Aoi's delight, and the two of us were now sitting in a café with a drink of tea each. Just a little way from our table sat the two participants of the tennis match. Aoi had her back to them but they were in my line of sight meaning I could watch without being obvious.

"I'm not stalking. I'm studying," I corrected her. It just so happened that what I was studying was human.

"Is that what they call it these days?"

I just ignored her. She was only too happy to come with me once she realised who I was following. If I was stalking then she was as well.

"So what are they doing?" Aoi asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know. Ryuga just gave some pieces of paper to Light." We were sitting too far away for me to see anything clearly.

"Well, can you hear what they're saying?"

"I might have good ears but I'm not that good Aoi."

We sat this way for a few minutes. Nothing much of interest was happening. I could tell that Aoi was getting bored and I was just about to suggest she go home when Ryuga's eyes moved to meet my own. I froze, unable to look away. Those dark orbs drawing me in, deeper and deeper. Why wasn't he looking away? I could feel my heart's steady beating increase as the seconds passed by. Something stirred inside me.

Light's phone rang and he turned away from me. I released the breath I hadn't realised I had been holding and slid into my chair, grasping the warm cup in front of me.

"Are you okay Amate?" Aoi was looking at me a little concerned. "You look like you're burning up. Your face is bright red."

"I'm fine. It must just be warm in here," I replied. My heart rate was returning to normal and the strange stirring in my stomach had subsided. He had really taken me by surprise. Did Ryuga know I followed him? How long had he known that I was sitting there?

It didn't matter now. Both he and Light had left after the phone call and I had no plans of following them any further. Aoi and I quickly finished our tea and left the café.

* * *

"I can totally see why you like him," Aoi suddenly said as we walked home.

"Sorry?"

"Ryuga. I thought he was a bit freaky at first but now…I can see why you'd like him."

I was completely taken aback by the directness with which Aoi spoke. What on earth was she talking about? I didn't like Ryuga.

"Where did you get that from?" I asked.

"I know you better than you think Amaterasu. Probably better than you know yourself sometimes. Ryuga's totally your type."

"I wasn't aware I had a type."

"You do. And Ryuga fits. He's not conventionally good-looking. Most people probably wouldn't give him the time of day. But he's not ugly. The more time you take to look at him the more you realise it. And the way he carries himself and his mannerisms are rather unique and unusual which immediately draws your attention to him. In other words, he's not boringly perfect," Aoi finished while I remained silent.

It's true that I didn't like your typical good-looking guys and Ryuga was far from typical. And his mannerisms were what drew me too him in the first place. He wasn't even a little bit boring. However, that did not mean that I was attracted to him. Aoi was seeing more to this than there actually was. She didn't know that Ryuga was L. She didn't know that Light was a possible suspect in the Kira case so I could forgive her for coming to the conclusions she had reached.

"I hate to break it to you Aoi but I don't like Ryuga. I'll admit he's interesting and I'll admit that he's not unattractive but that's about as far as it goes."

"If that's really what you believe then I'll leave it," Aoi said. "But I know I'm right."

We reached my house and I just laughed to myself as I headed up to the front door.

"See you tomorrow Aoi."

"See you Amate."

* * *

I lay in bed that night, the events of the day playing over in my head. Light and Ryuga's tennis match. Their trip to the café. The phone call that had them rushing off not long after they had arrived.

I tried to concentrate on all of these things but all I could see were Ryuga's eyes watching me. I could still feel them, as if he there in the darkness. There was no way I could sleep. The feeling wouldn't go away. The thoughts in my head were slowly being taken over by Aoi's words.

"_I can totally see why you like him."_

"_Ryuga's totally your type."_

I cursed that stupid girl as I tossed and turned. She may have been my best friend but that didn't mean that I couldn't hate her for placing stupid thoughts in my head. Liking Ryuga had never even crossed my mind until she had said that. He had just been someone of interest to me. A person outside of the usual mundane people I saw every day. He was L. Of course I was interested in him, but never romantically. Never.

"Argh. I am going to kill that girl tomorrow!"


	5. Chapter 5

It had now been four days since Aoi had put those ridiculous thoughts into my mind. I was finally starting to get my head in check and I woke up on the fourth day feeling more refreshed than I had done over the past three days. Aoi hadn't mentioned anything more on the topic and I had refrained from mentioning anything to her. She could be just as stubborn as I was when she thought she was right.

I was just about to leave for class that morning when Sora stopped me in the door. It was a surprise to me that he was up at this time in the morning, generally choosing to lay in until turned noon.

"What time you gonna be home tonight?" he asked as I slipped into my shoes.

"Around 5. Why?" I eyed him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. It had never mattered to him what time I arrived home. He was usually asleep when I got home anyway, or on his PlayStation. Oh the joys of being unemployed, however temporary it may be.

"I won't be in when you get back so let mum and dad know that I've gone out," he explained briefly.

"And if they ask where you are?"

"At a friend's."

The conversation ended there and I headed out. I don't know what it was, but something about Sora's face and manner made me feel uneasy. Sora didn't have many friends, that I knew of, outside of his job, and since being at home he had never mentioned any of them or any plans of meeting up. Why now?

* * *

"You're thinking too much Amaterasu," Aoi assured me when I expressed my concerns to her at lunch.

"I know you're right," I said. "I just can't shake this feeling that something's wrong."

"Just forget about it. If something was wrong I'm sure Sora would have told you."

Aoi was right. I would just ask Sora when he got home, or the next morning if he was back really late. He was allowed to have a social life and goodness knows he needed one since quitting the Task Force. Being cooped up at home was not healthy for a full grown man. I eventually concluded that I was just being a silly, over-protective little sister. Sora did not need me poking around in his social life, worrying about him all the time. No. I would just leave him be. It was none of my business. He was smart enough not to get into trouble.

"So, have you seen anymore of Light?" I asked, deciding we should change the subject before Aoi got annoyed at me. She was not above public displays of abuse.

A tiny smile began to spread across Aoi's face at the mention of his name. I immediately sat at the edge of my seat. Perhaps she had discovered something that would be of interest.

"Actually, I spoke to him just this morning." She was grinning like an idiot. "Oh Amate, I don't know how you can call him boring. I could be around him all day."

"Please Aoi. You've clearly been hypnotised, as I'm sure most girls in this university have." I sighed. She was too far gone. Aoi was, at this stage, too blinded by his perfect-ness to detect his less than perfect traits. I suppose it wasn't entirely a bad thing. I still enjoyed listening to her as she sounded so happy when she spoke about him.

"But you're still not buying it are you?" Aoi said, almost disappointed.

"Nope. He's too perfect and far too boring for my taste."

"Who's too boring?"

I started and nearly choked on my drink as someone crept up behind me. I was still coughing and spluttering as Aoi invited said person to join our table. Of course, it was none other than the devil himself.

"Light. What brings you to our lonely table?" I asked once my choking had subsided.

"Did Aoi not tell you?" Light said, glancing from me to Aoi. "I spoke to her this morning and she said I could join you for lunch." He smiled at me and I thought I might just throw my lunch. "So what were you two talking about if you don't mind my asking?"

"Not at all," I replied, taking a sip of my drink, my eyes never leaving him. I, of course, had no intention of telling him what we were talking about, but there was no harm in his asking.

"We were just talking about you actually," Aoi confessed, much to my dismay and Light's surprise.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Amate was just saying how you seem to have most of the girls here under your spell."

I could have smacked my head on the table right there and then. Aoi seemed to have no problems spilling everything to him. Maybe I was just being too cautious around him. But then again, I had always thought that girls' conversations should remain a mystery to men. Apparently that's not how Aoi saw it. Oh well. Since she started it.

"Actually, the word I used was hypnotised."

"Hypnotised? What on earth makes you think that?" Light laughed politely. His entire aurar just screamed fake to me. But then again, I was _slightly_ biased due to the fact I suspected him of being a suspect in the Kira case. I could be making a huge misjudgement but I had a feeling that I wasn't.

"Because you're a likeable guy Light. The girls seem to like you," I answered, my eyes still watching him.

"But you don't." It wasn't a question. Light was pretty perceptive. That doesn't make him a killer but it makes it worthy of noting down when I got home. Every detail was important.

"It's not that I don't like you. You just seem…"

_Fake._

"You just seem too perfect,."

At this Light laughed, as if the idea was preposterous. "Me? Perfect?"

"Yeah. Kinda like you have something to hide." I kept my tone light and friendly but Light's smile faltered none-the-less at my comment. It was only for a brief second but it was long enough for me to notice.

"Amaterasu doesn't like people who don't have obvious faults," Aoi immediately put in, feeling a little left out of the conversation and sensing my hostility. "Especially when it comes to her men." I turned to look at Aoi, still smiling but with a warning in my eyes.

_Don't you dare._

"Oh really? So what kind of men does Amaterasu like?" Light inquired. Why did he have to be interested?

_Don't you dare Aoi._

"She likes guys who are unique. Guys who stand out because they're different. Guys who don't conform to the rest of society, but who can still be considered good-looking if you look close enough. You know what I mean?" Aoi said to him, smiling so innocently.

I inwardly sighed. She had as good as given it away but she hadn't mentioned his name. I did not want stupid rumours going around the university that had no truth to them. It had been three days and I was begging her not to bring it up now.

"Kind of like Ryuga?" Light said after pondering for a moment on what Aoi had said. Did he really have to find an example?

"Yes. Exactly like Ryuga." Aoi beamed triumphantly. What on earth was this dummy doing?

"So Amaterasu likes Ryuga?"

"NO!" I said a little too forcefully. I could feel my face burning already. Neither of them were going to believe me now. I turned to Aoi, glaring daggers at her so hard I thought daggers might actually shoot from my eyes. To my dismay, they didn't and Aoi continued.

"She's in denial," Aoi 'kindly' explained to Light. "She likes him, she just hasn't realised it yet."

At that moment I just wanted the world to swallow me whole. My face would not stop burning. I could only imagine how red it was. I wanted to deny everything but I knew no matter how much I denied it they wouldn't believe me. Not with a face like mine at that moment. So instead, I simply sat there and refused to say anything. I was definitely going to kill Aoi for this later.

* * *

"Are you ok Amate?"

I ignored my parents as I sat glaring into my dinner that evening. Aoi seemed to have suddenly got into her head that I needed a man in my life. By the end of my last class of the day the entire university seemed to think that I fancied Ryuga. Aoi was no doubt hoping that Ryuga would hear about it and then something would happen. However, Aoi seemed to live in a dream world sometimes. As if things would turn out that way. As if I would let them.

"Stupid Aoi," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey love, would you turn the telly up a bit," my dad's voice suddenly cut across my thoughts.

It seemed something was happening on the television. I looked up to see one word written across the screen against a white background. Kira.

I sat up suddenly, completely alert and listening to the voice that was now speaking. Any thoughts of the day were pushed to the back of my mind as I focused on the message that was being relayed; the predictions that were being made.

Mr Kazujiko Hibima, the news anchor-man, would die at exactly 6pm.

"Mum, turn the channel."

Mum flicked just in time to see crew running onto the set as Mr Kazujiko lay slumped in his chair. Dead.

She flicked back. Kumaizumi Seiji, the NHN commentator.

My mum flicked once more. Dead.

There was no doubt that this was Kira. All died of sudden heart attacks. But something seemed a little…off. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Mum changed the channel, not wanting to see any more. This whole Kira business always upset her.

"Mum what are you doing?"

However, another station had cameras outside of the Sakura TV studio and we were now watching as a police officer, a detective, was killed as he tried to get into the studio. I recognised him. I was sure Sora knew him. But what was his name?

"Is that Ukita?" Dad asked, the horror visible on his face.

That was it. Ukita. I reached for my phone, wondering if Sora was watching. Did he see? It rang for several moments before Sora finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Sora, are you watching the news?"

"No. Why?"

"It's Ukita. Something's going down at Sakura TV and Ukita, he…" I trailed off. How on earth was I supposed to say this? I could feel the tears in my eyes already.

"What? He what?"

"Sora, he's dead."

Silence. I sat with the phone to my ear for a few minutes, waiting for a response. Someone drove a truck through the front of the station and two more police officers were killed before Sora spoke.

"What happened?"

"Kira. He's holding Sakura TV…"

He hung up.

"…hostage."

* * *

I lay in bed that night, wide awake, as I waited for Sora to return home. I regretted telling him about Ukita. I didn't want him doing anything stupid and getting himself killed. I would never forgive myself if something had happened to him.

I heard the door downstairs and I glanced across at my clock. 00:54. When I heard the stairs creak I slipped out of bed and went to meet him.

I opened my door just as he reached the top. It was Sora. He was alive. Without a word I threw myself at him, the relief swimming over me.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper as he hugged me back.

"I thought you might have done something stupid. You hung up so suddenly."

To my relief, he laughed. A normal, Sora laugh. "You should know me better than that."

"I know." I held onto him a little bit longer before eventually letting go. "But people do stupid things in moments of grief."

"Relax. I wasn't about to avenge Ukita by getting killed. I was just shocked that's all. Now get back to bed," He commanded. "You've got to be up in the morning."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Amate."

I closed my bedroom door behind me and climbed back into bed, feeling a lot more like sleeping. Now that Sora was home safe I could think clearly about the events of the evening.

Something just didn't feel right about this 'Kira'. Kira was supposed to need both a name and a face before he could kill someone. This 'Kira' had killed Ukita and the other police officers without knowing any of their names. Had his power somehow increased? I don't think that was the case. Perhaps he already knew the names of members of the Police. But if that was the case then why not kill them all from the beginning and be done with it?

No. Something definitely wasn't right. The killing of the anchor-man and NHN commentator didn't feel like the work of the same person. Kira killed criminals. He killed bad people. Aside from the FBI agents, he had refrained from killing innocent people. The FBI agents were a threat to Kira so I understood why they had to die, but the death of the two TV personalities made no sense. They had done nothing to be labelled criminals or bad people, and they were certainly no real threat to Kira. So why kill them?

Then, a horrible thought suddenly occurred to me. A second Kira. Was that possible? A second person with the same power? And this person only needed a face to kill. But it was hard to believe that even _one _person existed with Kira's power. Could there really be a second Kira?

* * *

Comments:

Ok. So it took a little longer than I anticipated to write this chapter and, if I'm honest, I'm still not entirely happy with it. You'll probably find I say that quite a bit the more chapters I write. It's just my lack of confidence in my writing. I have tried to make this chapter a little longer and hopefully the chapters will get longer as the story progresses. Anyway, I hope you haven't waited long and please review! It would be most appreciated ^_^

xx


	6. Chapter 6

A second Kira. Could there really exist a second? Was I over-thinking things and the events of last night had just been Kira making a display of power?

No. That didn't fit with the Kira I had envisioned. Or rather, it didn't seem like something Light would do. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point in my mind, Light and Kira had become one in the same and I had caught myself every now and again referring to Kira as Light. I knew I should wait until I had some kind of proof that Light actually was Kira but, it's hard to shake a notion one it's placed in your head. But whether Light was Kira or not, the Kira that killed last night was not the original. I was almost one hundred percent positive that there was someone else. And if I had thought of this possibility then L would certainly have thought of this. The only question now was what was L going to do about it? How would he prove that there was a second Kira, and how would he go about catching two Kiras?

* * *

I walked into University the next morning, my head buzzing with the idea of there being a second Kira, wondering what L would possibly do. The events of the evening had pushed the events of the day straight from my mind so the looks I received as I passed by had me feeling a little confused and little self-conscious. _What's everyone looking at? _At first I shrugged it off and went to my morning classes but, by the afternoon it hadn't stopped and I was really starting to worry that something was wrong with me. I hurried to the bathroom and stared at the reflection in the mirror. There was nothing on my face, my hair was fine, and I had already checked my clothes a hundred times. "What is every staring at? And why isn't Aoi here to make it stop?" Then something clicked. Aoi. Ryuga. A rumour. Then I remembered. Because of her, everyone thought I liked Ryuga. Everyone was laughing at me because they thought I liked the strange kid that hung around Light. How could I have forgotten? I only hoped that this hadn't yet reached Ryuga. Once it did my life was over. "Tomorrow, that girl is dead!"

As I left the bathroom I bumped into Light as he was walking past. The last person I wanted to see. Actually, I think seeing Ryuga would have been even worse on this particular day, but Light was still not someone I had hoped to see. "Oh, Light." The joy must have been showing on my face because he laughed. He laughed that sickeningly fake laugh. "You could sound a little happier to see me."

"Well, thanks to you and my former best friend the whole school is laughing at me."

_That and I think you're actually Kira. Speaking of Kira…_

Before he had a chance to start a normal conversation about something uninteresting I had an idea. I decided to ask whether he had seen last night's Kira incident. A little test.

"I did. It was awful the way Kira just killed those people like they were nothing."

I watched his face, looking for anything that might give me something, anything that could prove (or disprove) that he was Kira. So far there was nothing. "So you think it was actually Kira?" I asked. Light was a smart guy. If I had thought of there being a second then he most certainly would have. And if he was Kira then he would know that there was a second. If anything he should jump at the chance to tell people that that Kira from last night was not the original. The second Kira was ruining his image. Either way he should tell me about the second. As far as he's concerned he has nothing to hide from me.

"Well, who else could it be? No one else has that kind of power," he replied, so innocently even I was surprised. He wasn't going to suggest the idea of there being a second Kira first?

* * *

"A test? Is that what that was?" I sat on the edge of my bed, thinking about my conversation with Light.

"Amaterasu! Dinner!"

"Comin'!"

He had nothing to hide from me. He had nothing to prove, so why didn't he mention the second Kira? Had I been wrong? Was Light really the innocent he made himself out to be? Perhaps Aoi was right; I was over-thinking things. But something was nagging at the back of my mind. Light was smart. He had the brains and the logic to know that something was different about the Kira from last night's broadcast. It would only be natural for him to share his ideas with me since we were kind of friends. Did he not trust me? Was he waiting to see if I had thought of a second Kira?

No. He was planting doubt in my mind. For some reason, he must not trust me. Somehow, he must know that I know, or at least suspect that I suspect something. Or maybe I was thinking too much again. Heaving a sigh, I finished my food and excused myself from the table before returning to my room. When did my life become so mixed up?

I was about to nod off to sleep, my poor brain exhausted from the past couple of days, when my phone started ringing. Rolling over to grab it I saw that it was Aoi calling. What did she want?

"Hello?"

"Amate, did you see the news?"

I sat up, wondering what might have happened to make her phone me. "No. Why?"

"The police refused to cooperate with Kira so Kira has demanded that either L or the Chief of the Japanese police be revealed so he can kill one of them. I know you fancy yourself a bit of a detective sometimes and I know you're a fan of L's so I thought you'd want to know."

I didn't reply. A choice between the Chief of Police and L. Of course it would be L to be revealed; L was an unknown. They would never allow Kira to kill the Chief of Police. L would be the one. It would be L to die. It was the most logical choice.

"Amate?"

"I guess it makes sense that Kira would want L dead if he didn't agree to cooperate. I would have done the same. Thanks for telling me, Aoi." And I hung up.

Kira would no doubt increase the killings until the police gave up L. They couldn't just ignore him without there being consequences; consequences neither the police force nor L would be able to stand for. But if they didn't come up with something, within the next few days L would be dead.

L was the most logical choice. It was the most logical choice. "He's the most logical choice."

But telling myself that it was logical didn't make the aching in my heart go away. L was going to die. The greatest detective in the world would be gone, just like that and there was nothing I could do about it. At that moment I felt truly helpless and I realised just how ridiculous I'd been. What use was solving the Kira case by yourself if you couldn't help anybody? What use was playing Detective by yourself if no one benefits from your findings? Just what was I doing with my life?

"What are you doing, Amaterasu?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Sora, what on earth are you up to?"

I stood gazing up at the building looming before me. For reasons unknown to me, my older brother had checked himself into a hotel the day before and was demanding I bring him a duffel bag full of his clothes. Just how long he was planning to stay, and his thinking behind this decision was a mystery when he had a perfectly good room back at our house. What on Earth was he doing? On second thoughts, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. There were certain things I didn't need to know about my brother's life.

* * *

"Amaterasu?"

A hand stopped the lift doors from closing and a surprised Light was now standing in front of me, his eyes moving from me to the duffel bag in my hands. '_Of all people, why did it have to be him?'_

"Light? What brings you here?" I asked, deciding that polite conversation was the way to go rather than rushing from the lift and swiftly exiting the hotel.

"Ah, I'm meeting someone here. You?"

Meeting someone? Who was he meeting at a hotel? '_A friend visiting from out of town, perhaps'_. That was a perfectly acceptable explanation. It wasn't really any of my business anyway. Light was allowed to visit people without it being suspicious. Even killers had lives. Besides, he looked as perfect and normal as always. I, on the other hand, with my black duffel bag and awkward smile, looked every bit suspicious. Even now I could see Light's eyes moving to the duffel bag.

"Me? I'm just dropping off some clothes for my brother." A perfectly reasonable explanation. It was the truth.

"Is he visiting from out of town?" A reasonable conclusion to jump to.

"Er, no," I replied with a small laugh. "Until yesterday he was living at home but, I think he's trying to get back his independence or something, you know?" It was hard to give a reason for my brother's sudden decision when I had no idea what he was thinking. He hadn't mentioned a word to our parents, and only decided to phone me that morning to tell me he wanted some clothes bringing over.

"I see."

The lift seemed to take hours but it eventually reached Sora's floor and I had never been more relieved to see the doors open. "Well, this is my floor." I flashed a smile before hurrying out of the lift as fast as I could without being too obvious, but when I glanced back I saw that Light was following me out. Was the person he was visiting on the same floor? What a coincidence.

He smiled when he saw me looking. "This is my floor, too. What a coincidence, eh?"

"Yeah." I smiled awkwardly back. "Well, I guess I'll see you later." And with that I hurried off to find Sora's room.

* * *

"So you wanna tell me why you're staying in a hotel?" I asked as I settled myself on the sofa. Sora had taken his bag and was currently filling his wardrobe, pretending he hadn't heard me.

"Thanks for doing this for me. Did you tell Mum and Dad?" He called back from his bedroom.

"And what would I have told them? It's a little suspicious that you've suddenly decided to start living in a hotel. I mean, how can you even afford this?" He didn't have a job anymore, so just where was his money coming from?

"I save," was his reply. "I had some money saved up for a rainy day."

"And this is what you thought you'd spend it on?" I turned to look at him as he came out of the bedroom, his face trying to hide something from me.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" He sat himself beside me, picking up his book from the table. He was avoiding looking at me which just made me all the more suspicious. He was hiding something, I just couldn't figure out what it was

"Does your girlfriend know about this?"

He blushed, as he usually did whenever I mentioned this mysterious woman that no one had ever met. I'd only ever heard him 'talking' to her on the phone, and even that was on a rare occasion. "Of course she does. How else will she able to come see me?"

"Oh, so she does exist?"

The earned me a glare. He was always so touchy. I held up my hands in defence and decided to drop the girlfriend topic right there. Talking about her didn't help me understand why he was staying at a hotel.

"So what exactly are you doing here, Sora? Help your little sister out."

Silence. He didn't say anything for several minutes as he tried concentrating on his book. I didn't say anything either but continued to stare at him, waiting for him to break. They say that patience is a virtue, and it was certainly one of mine. Eventually, Sora heaved a sigh and finally turned his head to face me, knowing I wasn't about to give up anytime soon.

"You're a real pest. You know that, right?"

I smiled. "What else are little sisters for?"

"Well, if you really must know, I just needed my own space." He was looking me straight in the eye as he said this, his face more serious than I've ever seen it. "I'm a grown man, Amate. Aren't I allowed to have my own place?"

This was very true. It was easy for me to forget that Sora was nearing 30 years old. He was an adult who could make his own decisions without them being questioned by nosy teenaged girls.

"Of course you are." I was suddenly feeling awfully guilty for suspecting him of having ulterior motives. He really did just want some independence back. "You just did it without a word to any of us. You can understand my suspicion." It did seem odd for him to do this without telling his family.

"I know. I'll call Mum and Dad later to let them know; I just wanted to get settled first is all."

"Well," I said as I rose to my feet. "I suppose I'll leave you to it then." If he wanted his own space then I wasn't going to hang around all day. Although he would never have told me to leave, I knew when it was time to go.

Sora put his book down and followed me to the door. "Thanks again for bringing me my clothes. And I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Don't worry about it. Just don't forget to invite me round to meet your girlfriend." I gave him a playful nudge as I said this, smiling as he rolled his eyes.

"See you later, Amate."

"Bye bye, Sora." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving his room. He watched me until I reached the lift and closed the door after giving me a final wave. _'Honestly, Sora. If you wanted space you could have just told me. No need for all the secrecy.' _I had to laugh at myself, though. It seemed that I'd gotten so caught up in all this Kira business that I was starting to become suspicious of everything and everyone. I needed to get a grip on myself before I really started to become paranoid.

"Amaterasu?"

The lift doors opened and the last person I expected to see stepped out, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Matsuda?"

Touta Matsuda. He was one of my brother's friends from when he was still a detective. I noticed him holding a bag in one hand, with what appeared to be clothes inside. What was he doing here? He looked troubled at first, as if he wasn't sure whether he should run or not. I was starting to get that distrustful feeling again, but then smiled at me. A genuine smile from the eyes that pushed those feelings aside.

"Long time no see, Amaterasu. What brings you here?"

"I came to visit my brother. He got tired of living at home so he's staying here for a few days," I replied with a smile. I'd always liked Matsuda; he was a genuinely decent guy who, although a bit simple and excitable at times, was good at his job when he was given the chance.

"How is Sora?" He asked; the sincerity clear in his voice. "I haven't heard from him in a while."

"He's fine. If you want to see him he's only down the hall. I'm sure he'd be glad of a visitor that's not his little sister."

"Really? I'll try and drop in when I have some time then, Well, I'm sure you have things to be doing so I'll let you go," he said, stepping away from the doors to the lift. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, you too." I watched him walk away as I waited for the lift doors to open. I couldn't help but think how strange it was that both Light and Matsuda had come to the same floor of this hotel; the same floor that Sora had booked a room on. The suspicion started creeping back as I stepped into the lift and as the doors closed everything suddenly fell into place.

"Sora, you lying bastard!"

* * *

**A/N: I would like to apologise for the people waiting for this story. (シ****_ _)シ ****I'm a terrible person. I know this. I disappear for long periods of time, promise things I shouldn't, and come back with terrible chapters. But I honestly plan to keep with it this time. Honest I do. At the minute I'm just trying getting back into the swing of things. Once I do, hopefully, the chapters will start to get longer, they will be of a better quality, and the story will start getting closer to where I want it to go. Please persevere with it and I'll try not to let you guys down! がんばります！ ****(`-´)ゞ**

**(Also, thank you for those that do read this. Means a lot. (^_^))**


	8. Chapter 8

_'I cannot believe him. He lied straight to my face! What does he think he's doing? Idiot!'_

Once I'd put the pieces together it all seemed so obvious. I couldn't believe I'd missed it. Coming to me with regrets of leaving the force, sudden nights out with his 'friends', and then checking into a hotel where I just happened to bump into Light and Matsuda on the same floor. He was stalking the Kira Investigation Team. What did that idiot think he was doing? If Kira ever discovered him he'd be dead. Rather than doing it in secret, why didn't he just go grovelling back? If that's what he really wanted then I'm sure he would have eventually found a way to get them to take him back. But I guess he had that 'pride' thing going on so, he would never be able to bring himself to grovel. Still, I think pride can take a backseat when it comes to a choice between keeping face and keeping your life.

Anyway, despite the fact that I wanted to phone Sora and have a good go at him about this, I decided to leave him to it for a little while. I'd let him think he'd fooled me and use this as an opportunity to get closer to the task force. Calling Sora up on his lie would mean I'd also have to admit an ulterior motive for visiting him as often as I planned to. There was no way he was going to let me do something as risky as that, so I would just leave things be for the moment. His idiot move could actually work in my favour.

* * *

"Amate, wait up!"

I turned at the sound of Aoi's voice to see her running towards me.

"Oh, hey A-. " I stopped short as her hand connected with the side of my face. "What the hell was that for?"

"That is for not contacting me at all these past few days. You didn't return my calls, or reply to my e-mails. I was worried you'd died or something." Aoi looked genuinely upset so I felt a little guilty for suddenly disappearing like that. The truth was, I'd been spending a lot of time at the hotel with Sora, trying to keep an eye on who I saw on that floor and which room they were going to. Sora was a little suspicious of my sudden daily visits, but he never said a word about it. I think maybe he suspected what I was doing, but calling me up on it would mean he would have to admit lying to me.

I rubbed my cheek where Aoi had hit me, the skin warm to touch. "I'm really sorry Aoi. I've been busy."

"Too busy to come to class? Too busy to contact your best friend?"

"I got distracted. There's so much going on I just forgot. I'm really sorry. I promise it won't happen again." I clapped my hands together in front of my face, pleading with her. If it meant not getting hit in the face again then I would definitely keep my promise.

She looked at me for a moment, deciding whether she should forgive me or not. I knew that she would want to know what I'd been up to so I thought, to appease her, I would tell her my secret.

* * *

"So let me get this straight; Ryuga is actually L, Light is a suspect in the Kira case, Sora is secretly spying on the police task force, and you're trying to become involved in the Kira case. Did I get that right?"

"Yep, pretty much."

I raised my hand to face as I felt the sting of Aoi's hand once again. She was unusually violent today.

"Are you crazy? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I was about to try and explain things to her but she didn't give me a chance before she started off on a rant. I guess she was a little upset that her precious Light might be the serial killer everyone was afraid of. Also, I think she was it was all just a little too much for her to take in..

"You're such an idiot, Amate. You don't have any proof of this and yet you'd risk your life trying to get close to this case? Does that make any sense?"

I guess it didn't make any sense when she put it like that. She was right. I didn't have any proof. This was all speculation based on something I'd heard at the Opening Ceremony, nothing more. The only thing I knew for certain was that there were two Kiras. I'd been keeping a close eye on the news and there had been a reply from the real Kira, and just the night before the second Kira's reply had been aired. This had meant that L lived to see another day and I wanted, more than ever, to get myself involved. I knew it was dangerous. I understood that everything had been guesswork up to now. I knew that I had my family and friends to think about. But this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in my life; a real life murder mystery right under my nose. As an avid fan of mysteries and detective stories, this was like gold to me and I wasn't sure that Aoi understood that.

"Please just listen to me, Aoi. I know you don't understand but, the fact that I don't have any proof about the identities of L and Kira is just another reason for me to do what I'm doing. I have to know, and the only way to know is to get myself involved."

Aoi just stared at me, those brown eyes trying to search inside me for something, something to help her understand. She had never been as interested as I had in the world of murder and mystery, preferring the romantic world over anything else, but I could see she was trying hard for me.

Eventually, she sighed and shook her head. "I still don't get it. I mean, I know you have your moments but, to be a part of the task force? I don't know." She closed her eyes for a moment, a final battle within herself, then she looked at me and her eyes that told me she'd given up. "But, you always did have a way of getting yourself into things you shouldn't. I just hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I, Aoi. So do I," I responded with a smile. But she had a point. Yes, I had my moments, but could I really be a part of a police task force? I was no Light Yagami. I may have been good at judging people, but that was about as far as my talents went. What on Earth was I going to bring to a task force led by the greatest detective in the world? Perhaps I was getting in over my head, but I couldn't stop now. I had to find a way in.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Because of them I wanted to write another chapter as soon as possible for you guys so, here it is. It's still not a long one, but I'm working on it.**

**Thanks again, guys. Really appreciate it! (^o^)**


	9. Chapter 9

_Two Kiras. There were definitely two Kiras. Two Kiras that had met up? They must have met up by now, right? If Light hadn't found the second then the second had surely tracked Light down by now. If that was the case, then it would only be a matter of days before L died. This second Kira seemed to not need a name so it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened, unless L could come up with a counterattack that would buy him enough time to prove who Kira was and put him away for good. _

It was a sunny afternoon and I had some free time between classes, but instead of preparing for the next class of the afternoon, I was sitting by myself mulling over everything that I knew about the Kira case and jotting down anything of relevance that suddenly came to mind. I still had no idea how I was going to infiltrate the task force, but going over the case details I knew made me feel better about myself. I didn't feel like so much of a failure.

"Notes for class?"  
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of a voice suddenly speaking from nowhere. I hadn't realised that anyone had approached me. I looked up to see none other than Ryuga sitting himself on the bench beside me, his eyes falling to my notebook. I quickly tipped the pages out of his line of sight with a very hurried confirmation that they were indeed notes for my class, but I knew it was too late. He had already seen.  
"Notes on the Kira case?"  
I could hear the faint note of surprise in his voice and sighed in surrender. There was no use hiding it from him now. "Yeah. Sort of a hobby of mine." I forced myself to look him in the eye, dreading the judgement on his face, but there was none. His face was the same as it always was.  
"I see. A bit of a dangerous hobby, isn't it? Investigating murders by yourself."  
"You mean you're not going to laugh?" Well, he _was_ the greatest detective in the world and I was a simple university student playing detective. Surely this must have seemed a little funny to him.  
"Why would I laugh? It's not for me to judge what you do in your spare time. I think there are definitely safer things you could be doing, but then again some people jump out of planes for fun."  
I smiled. I knew there was a reason that I admired this man. He was definitely someone I could get used to having around. As a friend, of course. Strictly friends only. There was no way that I was going to let Aoi be right about this; I would never hear the end of it. Friendship was all I wanted from this man. "So what about you Ryuga? What do you like to do in your spare time?"  
"Funny you should ask."

In the end, our conversation ended up being a discussion about the Kira case. Ryuga was probably curious to hear my theories, to see whether I had actually come up with anything worthwhile or whether I just liked to pretend that I was good at detective work. I wasn't sure whether I should tell him that I knew who he was or that I thought that Light was Kira, so I just told him that I suspected two students at the university of being the mysterious detective and the ever elusive killer. He had probably guessed that I knew but he never brought me up on it.  
"Aren't you afraid that you might be killed? Especially if Kira does turn out to be a student at this university. He probably already knows who you are."  
"Oh, he knows who I am," I replied. "I've spoken to him a few times and, although I think he suspects I know, I'm of no real threat to him."  
"And why would you say that?"  
"Because if he killed me, or even had me killed by the second Kira, he's the only one I've been investigating. The police would only have to find my notes and he'd be on their suspect list if he wasn't already."  
"Why would you think he'd already be a suspect?"  
"Because that's what made me suspect him. L's here at the university and he even introduced himself to the suspected Kira at the Entrance Ceremony. That's the man that's the biggest threat to Kira. And if the greatest detective in the world suspects that Light is Kira then that's a good enough reason for me."  
"So you knew?"  
I smiled sheepishly as I admitted to overhearing him speaking to Light at the ceremony. Eavesdropping was not as impressive as figuring it out by myself.  
"How did you know that I wasn't lying?"  
"I just had a feeling, and my feelings are usually right."  
At this Ryuga smiled. I think this was the first time I'd seen him smile before and it was directed at me. I would never admit it to Aoi, but that one smile made me just a little bit happier than it should have done. I felt a strange fluttering sensation in my stomach and I had to turn my head away. I covered the action by putting my notebook and pen back into my bag. "I suppose I should be heading to class. I still have stuff to prepare so I should get there early."  
As I rose to my feet, Ryuga mirrored my actions. "Of course," was his response. "But before you go, I don't think I got your name."  
"Oh right. Of course. It's Amaterasu. Amaterasu Inoue."  
He frowned for a second as he heard my name, as if it meant something to him somehow but he couldn't remember why. Then I saw it dawn on his face. "You're the girl that likes me."  
My eyes widened and I could feel the heat in my face. "Ahaha. I really should get going." And without another word I spun around and all but sprinted towards the university building and away from Ryuga. "I really am going to kill her this time!"

* * *

"Are you kidding? You mean he actually said it to your face?"  
Aoi was laughing at me down the phone as I lay on my bed, completely mortified by what had happened. "It's all your fault. Starting that stupid rumour when I told you that I don't think of him that way!"  
"Come on, Amate! You pretty much just admitted that you do. Don't try and hide it."  
I could tell that she was enjoying this. She was enjoying my suffering and it was clear she wasn't going to back down. "Think whatever you like Aoi. I'm not going to argue with you anymore."  
"That's as good a confession as any."  
"So why weren't you in class today?" I asked, ignoring her comment.  
"That's right, change the sub- Ah. Hold on a sec. I'm getting another call." And just like that I was put on hold. Honestly though, even if I did find him attractive, I was sure that what I felt was pure admiration from a fan's point of view. There were no romantic feelings involved. At least, I didn't think there were. After our encounter today, a little bit of doubt had started to set in, but it was impossible. Me and the world's greatest detective? As if. I couldn't let myself get swept away by Aoi and her fantasies.  
"Amate. You still there?"  
"I'm still here."  
"Well, I'm hanging up now. You're expecting a call."  
"What? No I'm not. Aoi, who was-" But she was already gone. What on earth was she talking about? I wasn't expecting any phone calls. If she didn't want to talk anymore then she could have just said. But not a minute had gone by before my phone started ringing. An unknown number. Confused, but a little curious, I answered.  
"Hello?"  
"Is this Amaterasu?"  
"It is. Can I ask who's speaking please?"  
"It's Ryuga."


End file.
